Defence secretary Greg Moriarty has been reappointed to his role. 

“Mr Moriarty commenced as Secretary of the Department of Defence on 4 September 2017 and was reappointed for another 5-year term in September 2022,” the department’s website says. 

However, media investigations suggest the appointment was made quietly, and was not announced at the time. 

As well as the Defence secretary position, Mr Moriarty has previously been ambassador to Iran and ambassador to Indonesia, as well as deputy secretary at DFAT. 

The news comes ahead of a wide-ranging strategic review of Australia’s defence capability to begin later this year.